Dr Amir Zekgroo is an Iranian photographer, artist and calligrapher, and is currently Professor of Islamic and Oriental Art at the International Islamic University in KL. He illustrated his talk with slides of buildings in his homeland, particularly in Isfahan and Kashan, and he focussed on their subjective and symbolic aspects.

In the architectural context 'Islamic' can refer to sacred, religious, or secular buildings. Secular buildings, like homes and markets are considered Islamic if they possess an appropriate style and do not conflict with the tenets of the faith. He didn't tell us much about the architectural vocabulary that make a building Islamic. I assume that the term refers to buildings that have certain characteristic features (eg pointed arches, onion domes, circles and squares) that reflect an underlying ethos. I guess you recognise it when you see it.

A mosque is obviously a religious building. What may make it sacred is not its style or purpose, but the calligraphy that decorates and embellishes it. To a Muslim, the stylised, flowing Arabic inscriptions and motifs are nothing less than the words of God. As an example we saw the mehrab from the 16th-17th century Imam's Mosque in Isfahan. A mehrab is a decorated niche found in most mosques. It is covered not with carvings (as would likely be in an equivalent Christian building) but with calligraphy. The lack of the statuary and the other characteristic of churches and Chinese temples make a mosque seem simple and bare. It symbolises the uncluttered mental state that is necessary if one is to be spiritually filled. The mehrab points to Mecca, or more specifically to the Kaaba. Here again, at the Muslim holy epicentre there is a plain block of stone.

The dome of the mosque, which is slightly pointed like a beehive, is decorated with repeating geometric patterns, inside and out, all linked and spiralling upwards towards heaven - another metaphor. The dominant motifs in all Islamic decoration are geometric and floral patterns. In Iran the patterns are characteristically on pieces of tile with a turquoise blue background.

In order to be aligned to Mecca, the Mosque is set at an angle to the huge Imam's Square in Isfahan in which, cheek by jowl with the mosque is the full life of the city. The mosque is not separate. It has its own courtyard with a pool, as is common in mosques. Water cools the summer heat, it is aesthetically pleasing, and gives reflections. But water has a particular symbolism for Muslims who inhabit some of the driest places on earth. The Koran teaches that God made everything in the world from water.

Paradoxically, 'Islamic' architecture may also be used for Christian churches. The ancient Vank church in Isfahan looks just like a mosque, with an onion dome - though without minarets.

An example of a religious, but not necessarily sacred building was the Madrasa in the city of Kashan. Here wind towers directed a cooling draught down through conduits into the building and its courtyards. The air passed through filters of damp straw, forming a primitive, and presumably Islamic, air-conditioning system.

From outside, old houses and secular public buildings in these historic cities are usually deceptively plain and unpretentious. By contrast, the inside is sumptuous. Again this was a metaphor - for outward modesty and inner spiritual riches. Houses are built with courtyards and pools. They have a cool basement into which the residents move in the summer heat.

From above, a market in Kashan looks like nothing more than a collection of sand dunes. Closer to, these are exotically shaped domed roofs that have withstood earthquakes, wind, rain, ice, snow and baking heat for four centuries despite being made only of mud and straw! From inside, the market has a coffered domed roof of great elegance and impressive height, pierced by patterns of lozenge shaped windows - a temple of the retail world.

The seventeenth century Khajoo Bridge in Isfahan, is constructed of two levels of stone arches. At night the arcades, which house cafes and restaurants, are lit, casting their reflected light shimmering out over the water. Although a functional structure, its perfection of design qualifies it to be considered Islamic.

Whether this epithet could be applied to the last building shown is unclear. It is a massive cylindrical tower that looked to have a military purpose but was actually a pigeon house! In European monasteries pigeons were a source of protein during long winters. In Iran the pigeons were a source of what for want of a better word I will call guano - used to fertilise the lands.

Iran is not on many tourist itineraries. From what we saw today, perhaps it should be. A trip could have many rewards.
- Phillip Snashall

Twenty ladies and a gentleman gathered at Ardy's house on a sultry morning in March to learn more about Java's tourist attractions and vibrant contemporary art scene. We enjoyed Ardy's hospitality and the culturally appropriate "makan" she provided.

Ardy Timmer, of Dutch nationality, lived in Indonesia for five years, and was the co-founder and leader of the art group of the Indonesian Heritage Society. Her enthusiasm for Indonesia's people and culture, particularly artists of the second half of the twentieth century, was demonstrated by the enormous effort she put into preparing her talk and sharing her expertise.

Ardy lead us on an interesting journey to the tourist highlights of Jakarta, Bandung and Yogyakarta, covering much cultural, tourist, and geographical information along the way. In a short review it is impossible to do justice to her efforts, however I will attempt some highlights.

Jakarta
In Jakarta we visited the old harbour of Pelabuhan Sunda Kelapa - an ancient spice trading centre - and home to one of the few remaining commercial sailing fleets. The old VOC (Dutch East Indies Company) storehouse, houses a Maritime Museum. Ardy recommends an early visit to buy fish at the nearby Pasar Ikan (fish market)!

Other attractions include the old administrative centre of Batavia at Fatahillah Square. Here the old town hall (now a museum) and the Wayang Museum are worth a quick look. No outing is complete without makan - the Café Batavia sounds interesting and reasonably priced. China Town provides the usual "designer treats", an award-winning restoration of an 18th century mansion romance, and Medan Merdeka is home to the Museum Nasional, where a fine collection of Chinese ceramics, bronzes, textiles and ethnographic items would intrigue the enthusiast.

Ardy also recommended visits to the Istanas, local churches, temples and botanical gardens.

Bandung
The milder climate of Bandung, at elevation 768 metres, ensured its success as an administrative and commercial centre for the Dutch in West Java. Unfortunately, increasing urbanisation (its success?) has eroded the climatic advantages it enjoyed in the past.

It remains an interesting town for urban planners and architecture buffs to explore as an example of the Dutch planning the first modern city of the east, including 'garden city' elements. Buildings were designed for the tropical climate by adapting traditional designs to meet modern needs (eg the Grand Hotel Preanger), or by adapting western designs to the climate (eg the Savoy Homann).

The Malabar Tea Estate and the Mt Tangkuban Perhau volcanic crater are worth visiting in the vicinity of Bandung.

Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta is one of two remaining centres in Java governed by a Sultan. The region, formerly known as the kingdom of Mataram, is one of the most productive agricultural areas in Asia, and has been settled for 2000 years. No trip to the area is complete without visiting the world-famous Borobudur. As a Buddhist temple, Borobudur was not designed to worship a deity, rather it demonstrates the journey towards spiritual fulfilment through the study of 1460 stone relief panels on 4 lower levels reflecting the mental and physical experience of pilgrimage through mountains. On the fifth and top level, soaring stupas and an expansive view to the sky and surrounding mountains symbolise the end of the pilgrim's journey to enlightenment.

Further temples are located on the Dieng plateau, within the caldera of a volcano. The setting is impressive, although only eight of the original 400 structures remain. There are sulphur springs and swirling mists that contribute to the overall supernatural feeling. Hindu temples are located on the Prambanan Plain, east of Yogyakarta.

Within Yogyakarta itself, the Kraton (palace) is a 'must see' with its traditional Javanese court architecture, serving as both royal residence and centre of the kingdom. The Kraton was the focus of the five traditional Javanese arts: the Wayang (as puppets, dolls, or actors), court dance ('beksa'), the gamelan orchestra, the keris (no Javanese could consider his life happy without one), and batik.

Modern Art in West Java
The contemporary art scene was clearly Ardy's passion. She introduced us to several painters in Bandung and Yogyakarta, identifying a number of galleries and studios where their work could be seen and in some cases, purchased. She encouraged us all to go and experience this vibrant artwork for ourselves.

Ardy shared an enormous amount of information about the art scene that deserves a write-up of its own, or perhaps a book! As Ardy pointed out, it is not necessarily appropriate or helpful to compare Indonesian artists to European ones, though it was clear that social and political struggles have informed their work, often in a similar way.

The cultural and political environments of Bandung and Yogyakarta have fostered different approaches to local work with Bandung art tending to be more abstract and symbolic while art from Yogyakarta is often bolder, darker and more about social realism.

Although some of the pieces she showed us were both confronting and challenging, we were all impressed by the range and skill portrayed.
- Julie O'Rourke

Tipu Sulton succeed his father Haidar Ali as ruler of Mysore(1782-1799) and was renowned as the fearless warrior, the ‘Tiger of Mysore’. He campaigned fearlessly against the British who were trying to extend their political influence beyond the trading ports of Madras and Calcutta. Tipu adopted the tiger as his personal motif especially the stylized tiger stripe or bubri. Less–known was his softer side as a great patron of the arts, particularly decorative arts such as jewelry, metalwork, textiles, even architecture and calligraphy, all incorporating the tiger-stripe motif. Tipu Sultan was an outstanding and enlightened Muslin ruler in Imperial India.

We are most fortunate to have Anne Buddle, currently Head of Exhibitions and Collections Management at the National Galleries of Scotland speaking to us this morning. Her previous posts were at the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. She is in Kuala Lumpur for one day only, so we are indeed lucky to have her with us this morning.

In April 2004, retired academic and Navy Doctor, John Robertson was taking a walk on Penang's nearby neighbour, Pulau Jerejak, when he came across two small grave markers. They were the final resting place of two Russian soldiers, but what were they doing here?

Seine Majestat's Schiffe Emden, under Captain Karl von Muller was to become the most famous raider of WW1. Her exploits earned her the respect of even her enemies for her daring but chivalrous crew. The Emden was known as the 'Swan of the East'. At the outbreak of war, Capt. Von Muller took the Emden into the Indian Ocean, a vital passage for ships from England's many possessions and dominions to the homeland.

For three months, Emden wrecked havoc intercepting 32 Allied ships, sinking 18 British ships, capturing 3 colliers with their valuable loads of coal and converting another captured vessel into an armed merchant cruiser. She became the scourge of the Allied navies. All of this, with no loss of life among the merchant ships crews.

In October, 1914 the Emden ran into Penang harbour and torpedoed the Russian cruiser Yemtshuk, later that day, she sank the French destroyer Mousquet. By this time, Emden was being hunted by over 75 Allied ships. Her luck finally ran out, when the HMAS Sydney, a larger, but faster and lighter cruiser caught up with her.

In 1970, the French salvaged their sunken ship and sent the bones of their dead back to France for burial. In 1995, the Russians built a memorial to their 87 fallen soldiers.

Hopefully we've whetted your appetite to learn more about the Emden and we'll see you at this interesting talk.

Percy Vatsaloo is a Thai with a remarkable knowledge about the Laos textiles. Living close to the Laos border for many years, he developed an interest which became a way of living.

The clothes of the people on the other side of the Mekong River where to him of such an interesting material that he started to read about it.

Slowly his interest became knowledge and he started to collect the material. This was not an easy task. He asked his friends to bring him the materials when they crossed the river, sometimes wearing six layers of skirts over each other. A couple of times he dared to take the risk of entering the country of Laos illegally by going in to the villages and talking to the people to know more about the fabrics, how they created them and where the patterns came from.

When the French came in, they made the borders, but in the patterns you can still find the old traditional borders. When a woman gets married she will start to weave the pattern of the husband but, you can see that after years the patterns start to mix.

There are different patterns for different occasions. Daily wear, wedding, festivals and ceremonial occasions.

The best time for weaving is from the end of December until the beginning of March when the work at the fields is not very demanding. The weaving is done in a simple style and all the patterns have a meaning. The skirt is made of three parts, which is practical for changing the material after longtime use. Not only the clothes have patterns, the home textiles are also decorated with special designs.

To create a little privacy in the one-room house, the mosquito-nets are made from indigo blue material which is not only hardly to see through, but also gives some warmth during the night in the hilly sides of the country.

Most of the silk material is made from bombyx mori species. The quality of the outside is less than that from the inner side of the cocoon and more mixed with other materials than the silk only. The more you come to the heart of the cocoon, the finer the quality of the silk is.

For the dying process a different type of colouring is used. Traditionally the natural colours are found in plants, insects and fruits most of the time are made from family recipes.

Percy Vatsaloo has been a collector of Laos textiles for 18 years and might be considered an expert on this matter. He can tell you if a piece is original by smelling and seeing the material. He looks at the structure and way of weaving technique, the neatness of the material and the finishing touches. The patterns can also tell a lot about the age. In the older materials the patterns are smaller than the newer ones.

Percy Vatsaloo lives and works from Singapore. A few times a year he goes back to Thailand where he and his associates are running a business in the manufacturing of beautiful scarves made from first class silk and special weaving techniques.
- Alice Scholtmeijer